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The Last of the California Rangers (1928) by Jill L. Cossley-Batt

Title page, dedication, and thanks Contents Illustrations Preface Introduction 1. Early Childhood 2. Cotton, Slaves, and Mississippi 3. Another Venture 4. With Houston in Texas 5. William’s First Love 6. Across Desert and Plain 7. At the Mines 8. Nursed by the Indians 9. Moments with Marshall and Sutter 10. The Pack Train 11. Wild and Woolly 12. Major Savage and the Indians

13. A Skirmish with the Indians 14. Formation and Activities of the Mariposa Battalion 15. Discovery of the Yosemite and Death of Savage 16. California Banditti 17. The Ways of a Desperado 18. Capture of Joaquin Murieta 19. Hunting and Surveying 20. Grizzly Experiences 21. Pleasure and Politics 22. The Political Pendulum 23. True Love Never Runs Smooth 24. Howard’s Part in the Civil War 25. The Great Family Feud 26. Another Political Ambition 27. The Howards in The Yosemite 28. A Psychic Experience 29. California Duels Index

About the Author

Jill L. Cossley-Batt was born June 15, 1891 in England. She is not related to the subject, Captain William Howard, as claimed by some writers, but is a friend of his eldest daughter, Mrs. Ida Tinsley Desmond. Jill Batt also wrote Elixir of Life (1935), a book about food, and Sipa Khorlo: the Tibetan Wheel of Life (1955) with Irving Baird. Jill Batt died February 1969 in New York City.

Bibliographical Information

Jill Lillie Emma Cossley-Batt (1891–1969), The Last of the California Rangers (New York & London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1928). 299+xix pages. 22 cm. Illustrated with black & white photographs, facsimilies, plates, & portraits. Frontispiece with author’s photograph. First printing "Limited Deluxe Edition" limited to 200 copies, November 1928. Also a second printing, December 1928, reproduced here. Bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering; illustrated endpapers; edges untrimmed; Dust jacket has illustration of Murieta falling off his horse when captured. LCCN 28030766. Library of Congress Call Number F864.H86. Cowan, p. 144; Rocq. 15762; Zamorano 80 #64; Herd Six Guns 499.

This book is the biography of Captain William James Howard (1829–January 1924), the last surviving member of the California State Rangers. Howard ranched west of Mariposa and joined the Rangers, a posse formed by Harry Love to stop bandit gangs in central California.

Not mentioned in the book is that many of the bandit gangs were Californios who were driven out of the mines by Anglo miners or heavily taxed by the Foreign Miners’ Tax Act (even though they were U.S. Citizens). The original California Rangers should not be confused with contemporary groups with the same name. The book includes information about the Mariposa Battalion and discovery of Yosemite. It also has information about Galveston Island, Republic of Texas, where Howard grew up.

• A review of this book is in California History magazine 8:83-84 (1928).

Copyright

Copyright 16 November 1928 by Funk & Wagnalls Company (A2045). Copyright renewed 17 January 1956 by Jill L. Cossley-Batt (R162850). Copyright expires 2023 (after 95 years; 17 U.S.C. §304(b)).

Despite extensive research, I have been unable to identify all the possible rights holders of this book. Thus, some of the materials provided here online are made available under an assertion of fair use (17 U.S.C. §107). Therefore, this book is provided strictly for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The responsibility for making an independent legal assessment and independently securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use particular items in the context of the intended use.

I would like to learn more about materials in this book and would like to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information. Please contact Dan Anderson.

Digitized by Dan Anderson, January 2006, from a copy at the UCSD Library. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice is left intact.
    —Dan Anderson, www.yosemite.ca.us

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